Oak Harbor officials united with artists Thursday to hang a new mural in Council Chambers. The acquisition was approved by the city council last month.

“Song of the Salish Sea” is a 20-foot-by-4-foot acrylic painting on wood paneling by Port Townsend artists Nick and Kendall Mann. Their work pays homage to the spirited nature and beauty and sense of wonder found in the surrounding areas, said Parks and Recreation Director Brian Smith.

The mural is a busy spectacle of color and shapes, weaving Oregon grape, cedar trees, Devil’s club, foxglove and nettle through a landscape flanked by two blacktail deer. An orca leaps from the water, and a bald eagle anchors the centerpiece, symbolizing the heart of the landscape: a bridge between sky and water.

From the opportunity to purchase the mural arising to its hanging all occurred within two months, said Arts Commission Chairperson Therese Kingsbury, which is unheard of.

“I’ve been on the Arts Commission for eight years,” she said. “It took six years to get the fire hydrants painted.”

The mural was painted in 2016 and has since been hanging in the Willowtree Market on Bainbridge Island, said Kendall Mann.

The piece was hung above medicinal herbs and minerals sold in the market, Kingsbury said, which she hopes will transfer spiritually into City Hall.

“It’s been around these good vibes,” she said. “I’m just saying, bring that energy.”

Opinions of the piece from residents of Oak Harbor have been mixed, particularly surrounding the mural’s central panel depicting an eye on the horizon in the middle of layers of square shapes. Whidbey News-Times Facebook comments have brought up concerns of occult symbolism and conspiracies.

This was not Nick Mann’s intention at all, he said.

Nick is Greek, and he was inspired by the term “nous,” he said. While it doesn’t have a direct English translation, the closest one is intellect as depicted through the eye of the soul.

“It’s not anything Ancient Egyptian, Illuminati or anything like that. It’s not,” he said. “It’s really about the beauty. We’re really just into the local beauty.”

Typically, when Nick finishes a piece, he doesn’t think about where it might live on, he said. For the most part, especially with a mural, the biggest concern is graffiti or if the business moves.

With Oak Harbor acquiring “Song of the Salish Sea” and hanging it in City Hall, the mural has the potential to be protected and enjoyed for a long time, he said.

For Kingsbury, it means even more.

“This is proof that magic exists,” she said.

Mayor Ronnie Wright (left), faculties worker Tom Wade (middle) and artist Nick Mann (right) install “Song of the Salish Sea” in council chambers. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)

Artist Nick Mann (left), his son George Mann (middle) and faculties worker Tom Wade (right) bring a panel of “Song of the Salish Sea” into City Hall. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)

Faculties worker Tom Wade (above) and artist Nick Mann (below) install “Song of the Salish Sea” in council chambers. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)